Category Archive

Important Step Forward on Waters of the U.S. Rule We are pleased to announce that the Trump administration today released its proposed new definition for “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) that will resolve years …

The City of Houston recently made some major revisions to Chapter 19, the floodplain ordinance, and to Chapters 9 and 13 regarding drainage in the infrastructure design manual. These new regulation changes went into effect on …

Recently, there has been much confusion over the implementation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) joint Clean Water Act (CWA) “Waters of the U.S.”(WOTUS) definition and …

In an attempt to take action following Hurricane Harvey, the City of Houston has taken an aggressive, accelerated and largely emotional response by adopting onerous building and drainage regulation changes that went into effect on …

On August 1, the GHBA Developers Council hosted Congressman John Culberson (CD-7) who discussed his work on securing federal funds for Harvey recovery and infrastructure projects in his role as a subcommittee chairman of the …

Members encouraged to attend Thursday, June 28 from 6pm-8pm The public comment period for the proposed guidelines for the recently adopted major changes to Chapter 19, the City’s Floodplain Regulation Ordinance, ends on Friday, June …

Last week the Houston City Council voted to dramatically increase regulations on building within the 100 and 500 year floodplains. The proposal to amend Chapter 19, the City’s Floodplain Regulation Ordinance, was first introduced in …

The Houston Permitting Center is working to improve the Wastewater Capacity Reservations (WCR) application process. On May 1, the Houston Permitting Center launched a new process that introduced an appointment feature to schedule and process …

Update: Waters of the U.S. / Clean Water Act Executive Order On June 29, 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) finalized their much-discussed joint Clean Water …

After meeting with members of the GHBA Developers Council, engineers, contractors, builders and other stakeholders beginning last December over questions and concerns with regards to street acceptance policies, the Fort Bend County Engineering Department published …

Compaction verification is required for projects in which the foundation design requires compaction to be a specific density. This Special Inspection requirement can be met in the form of a letter from the design professional …

At noon on January 10, members of the Texas Senate and House of Representatives gathered in their respective chambers at the Capitol to convene the 85th legislative session. That began the 140 day countdown to …

The GHBA has been invited to participate in the upcoming Planning Commission Committee on Platting Standards. This committee will have two primary responsibilities: Consider and make recommendations on potential changes to the planning standards of …

During the 84th Texas Legislative Session, the legislature passed House Bill 1736 which mandated a new minimum energy code for most new residential construction and some remodeling work beginning on September 1, 2016. In September, …

Recently, the Houston Chronicle published an article about a Municipal Utility District, Fort Bend County MUD 187, and the dissatisfaction of some homeowners that the MUD might issue bonds, which they believe could raise their …